The women journey from Mexico or Honduras or El Salvador to Houston, pulled by the promise of a better life in a big city.

But when they arrive in America their apparent boyfriends, who brought them here, suddenly confess that their trip was not free. The women are forced to pay off staggering debts by working in cantinas where they're required to do more than wash dishes.

Fearing debt and death, they're forced into prostitution - and the cantina customers pay for this exploitation.

It's these customers who represent a major part of the human trafficking trade, often described as modern-day slavery. And it's these customers whom authorities plan to prosecute more fully to eliminate demand for prostitution.

Houston, known as hub for human trafficking, attracted a high-powered cadre of leaders on Tuesday who unveiled coordinated plans to fight human trafficking. Gov. Rick Perry, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, the FBI, lawmakers and other partners announced a statewide campaign to raise awareness about trafficking.

Beginning Tuesday, billboards about human trafficking will be displayed in Houston and other Texas cities such as Dallas and San Antonio. Public service announcements will air on Univision television, Univision radio and Clear Channel radio.

There also will be billboards on Houston area Yellow Cabs and Metro buses.

During the campaign's launch Tuesday at Houston City Hall, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said law enforcement would focus on customers - and pimps.

Prosecuting patrons of sex trafficking activities and other trafficking crimes could curb demand, while going after pimps would reduce supply for the fastest-growing business in organized crime, said U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble.

More than 270 cases were brought to the Harris County DA's human trafficking division for prosecution, investigation and review since February 2013, officials said. The DA's office also referred 214 trafficked females to assistance and support programs.

Law enforcement and their partners have identified more than 1,500 human trafficking victims in Houston since Dec. 2007, said Bradley Myles, director of the Polaris Project, which runs the Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline.

The hotline received calls that led to more than 550 trafficking cases in Houston since Dec. 2007, Myles said.

Texas ranks second in the nation in total calls to the hotline, according to a report by Polaris.

Brutal accounts

Poe said members of Congress listened to the stories of trafficking victims in hearings this year. He said victims provided brutal accounts of being branded like objects or cattle for sale.

"One trafficker even puts bar codes on the children he trafficks," Poe said.

One 10-year-old girl from Peru was sold for a cell phone, he said.

Parker said she hopes the campaign will encourage victims and people who see suspicious activity to call the trafficking hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

The FBI also announced the release of its most-wanted human traffickers in Texas.

"Look around," said Carlos Barron, FBI acting special agent in charge in Houston. "The weight of Texas law enforcement is ready for you."